 |
|
 |
  |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
February 13, 2008 |
|
|
Paradise. The past couple of weeks were lazed away in Hawaii. What a warm, wonderful way to temporarily escape winter. Maui was heaven. The shimmering, azure blue ocean gave birth to whitecaps that continually crashed onto the magnificent beach outside our window while the constant trade winds and sunny skies made February perfect for working on a tan. But behind every silver lining, there’s a dark cloud. We found the life of utter relaxation to be a bit pricey in paradise, making one long for Colorado and a more reasonably priced vacation spot like oh, say, Aspen or Vail. When not occupied laying out and working on the tawny, bronze god look, our days were involved in touristy things like whale watching. Boy, did we see whales. They surfaced in every shape and size, keeping in mind a baby humpback comes in at about the same dimension as a Laidlaw bus. The on board naturalist questioned, “Whales spend the summer in Alaska feeding, and winter in Hawaii where they don’t eat, do you know why?” I thought, “They can’t afford the groceries.” Hey with asparagus priced at $8.99 a pound and eggs six bucks a dozen at Honokowai’s Star Market, can you imagine what they’d charge for plankton? It turns out the humpbacks head for the warm waters of the Pacific for the same reason as an over forty divorcee’. They’re seeking romance and action. Which reminds me of a television tale. A couple of decades back some gas bag senator (Like there’s another kind?) was grilling a TV network executive at a government hearing. “Sir” said the politico, “I have in my hand a memo you sent to your programming staff urging more shows featuring sex and violence. Justify that!” “In all due respect Senator,” replied the suit, “It was a bad choice of words.” “How so?” came the query. “What I really meant to say was we need more programs featuring romance and action.” It was quickly apparent that among the myriad languages with which I struggle one must include Hawaiian. While on Maui we ran into Grand Junction local Buzz Moore. Buzz spent his early years growing up on Oahu, so I put his local knowledge to use asking how one pronounces Kahului. It’s where the airport is located. After the better part of a half an hour I finally had mastered one solitary word. And that was only accomplished by association. I just thought of Donald Duck and his three nephews. Huey, Dewey and the Hawaiian relative, Kahului. Once the pronunciation of Kahului was fait accompli Buzz was asked for linguistic assistance with the street where our condo was located, Lower Honoapilani. Buzz suggested it might just be easier to move to a resort located on Front or Main. Hawaii was terrific but it’s great to be back home in time for spring. I’ve always espoused the belief spring in the Grand Valley starts tomorrow, February 14. And to doubters who claim snow has fallen here after Valentine’s Day, I don’t disagree. What they forget is any falling flakes after February 14 constitute a spring storm. Don’t you already feel warmer? |